Music therapy is an effective treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Several studies have found that music interventions can help improve behaviors, communication, motor and cognitive skills. Specifically, studies have shown that using music to teach signs and words, as background for tasks, and in social stories can significantly increase imitation, recognition of emotions, and target behaviors like following directions. Music conditions generally produce better outcomes than verbal instruction alone.

1. Music Therapy with
Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Review of Research
Southwest Ohio Regional Autism Advisory Council
2009 Summer Institute

2. Mimi Sinclair,
MM, MT-BC
• Director, Music Therapy Services
• 513-474-6064
• msinclair@cinci.rr.com
• www.music-therapy-cincinnati.com

3. Music therapy is:
• a behavioral science and
• an aesthetic experience
• which uses music as a tool
• to make positive changes in behavior.

4. Uses of music
• As a reinforcer, contingent on desired behavior
• As a physical structure for the learning activity
primarily though its components of rhythm,
melody, and tempo

5. Uses of music
• As a background for learning, a complimentary
stimulus
• As a carrier of information: skills, concepts,
and general information

6. Uses of music
• As a reflection of skills or processes to be
learned, pairing nonmusical concepts within
the structure of the music
• As a music learning experience for leisure and
aesthetic experience

7. An Analysis of Music Therapy
Program Goals and Outcomes
for Clients with Diagnoses on
the Autism Spectrum.
• Ronna Kaplan and A. Louise Steele
• Journal of Music Therapy, 2005

8. Subjects
• 40 music therapy clients receiving services over
two years in community music school or group
home setting
• Age range 2-49 years

9. Session types
• Individual
• Partner
• Small Group
• Large Group
• Peer Model
• Combination

10. Goal Areas
• Behavioral/psychosocial
• Language/communication
• Perceptual/motor
• Cognitive
• Musical

11. Interventions
• Interactive instrument play
• Musical instrument instruction
• Interactive singing
• Instrument choice-making
• Song choice-making

12. Session format
• Activity-based
• Client-led/Shadow
• Ensemble/Combo
• Lesson-based

13. Outcomes
• Initial goals set at 25% change from baseline.
• 100% clients attained goal in one year or less

14. Outcomes
• Intermediate goals set at 25% change from
level achieved in initial phase.
• 77% met goal within 1 year or less

15. Generalization
• Parents and caregivers surveyed at end of year
• 100% subjects generalized targeted behaviors
outside of music setting occasionally or
frequently

16. Music in Intervention for
Children and Adolescents
with Autism:
A Meta-Analysis
• Jennifer Whipple
• Journal of Music Therapy, 2004

17. Meta-analysis allows for greater
confidence in conclusions
about the efficacy of treatment.

18. 10 studies met criteria for
inclusion
• Only 3 are published. Others are dissertations
and theses
• Skill areas addressed: social behaviors,
communication skills, cognitive skills

19. Uses of music
• Sung instructions
• Background music
• Music as reinforcer
• Music as structure

20. Target Behaviors
• Challenging behaviors
• Task completion/accuracy
• Self-stimulatory behavior
• Eye contact
• Vocabulary comprehension

21. Target Behaviors
• Shape identification
• Verbalization
• Out-of-seat
• Social acknowledgement
• Spontaneous speech

22. Results
• “All music intervention has been effective.”
• All reviewed use has a relatively high effect.

23. The Effects of Signed and
Spoken Words Taught with
Music on Sign and
Speech Imitation by
Children with Autism
• Evelyn M. Buday
• Journal of Music Therapy, 1995

24. Subjects
• 10 children from Chicago Public Schools
• Mild-severe autism
• Ages 4-9 years

25. Treatment Conditions
• Signs taught in conjunction with music and
speech
• Signs taught in conjunction with rhythm and
speech

26. Design
• Seen individually 4 consecutive days, 5 trials
each day, for two weeks
• Music condition one week, rhythm condition
the next

27. Dependent variables
• Correct signing
• Correct speaking
• 14 words

28. Results
• Average number of signs correctly imitated
during music condition was significantly higher
• Average number of words spoken correctly
during music condition was significantly higher

29. Musically Adapted Social
Stories to Modify Behaviors
in Students with Autism:
Four Case Studies
• Mike D. Brownell
• Journal of Music Therapy, 2002

30. Subjects
• 4 elementary school students in Iowa
• Ages 6-9 years

31. Conditions
• Baseline
• Reading social story
• Singing social story

32. Target behaviors
• TV talk
• Following directions
• Using a quiet voice

33. Results
• Both conditions significantly improved target
behaviors in a all 4 cases
• Frequency of negative behavior occurred least
often during music, but not significant

34. The Effect of Background
Music and Song Texts on the
Emotional Understanding of
Children with Autism
• June Katagari
• Journal of Music Therapy, 2009

35. Subjects
• 12 students attending school in Japan
• Primary diagnosis of autism
• Ages 9-15 years

36. Treatment conditions
• No teaching of emotions
• Teaching emotions with verbal instruction only
• Verbal teaching with background music
• Singing songs about emotion

37. Emotions taught
• Happiness
• Sadness
• Anger
• Fear

38. Dependent variables
• Recognition of facial expression from photos
• Recognition of facial expression from drawings

39. Dependent variables
• Identification of situation-based emotions
suggested in a set of pictures
• Facial expression of emotions by participants

40. Results
• All conditions resulted in gains
• Background music was most effective
• Singing songs was next
• Verbal instruction was lowest